What happens when you take an iPhone user's iPhone away for 7 days and replace it with a BlackBerry Z30?

That's the question Dan Nessel, the founder of DadDoes.com and big iPhone fan was willing to answer.

The folks at BlackBerry asked if I would do a 7 Day Challenge. Swap out my iPhone 5 for a BlackBerry Z30 for 7 days and just honestly report on how it went. Honestly, I thought this was going to be a train wreck for BlackBerry. I love my iPhone and all I really knew about BlackBerry was that they were that company that made those phones with little keyboards. Still, I figured a week without my iPhone would make me appreciate it even more.

I read the comments in the video page and wow
I'm amazed
These fans of BlackBerry are simply smart and mature in a way.
I saw only intellectual comments every where and it was damn damn impressive to see we have a set of customers who know what they bought and it's real value!

As a BlackBerry fan, its hard for me to say this, but BlackBerry need to just die. Why am saying this. lemme explain. I live in canada and i went to the three big mobil stores for to inquire about a z30, as the smaller carriers unforgettable dont carry it. It was a surprise to find out that there is this stupid thing only with a z30 that if u get the phone, then u have to get a plan of 70 dollars a month or more. To me that's just bs considering that an alcater phone with better specs than a z30 is very cheap compared to a z30. I was like for a company that going down, this is not the way to treat anyone, especially ur die hard fans. It was just too bs.

Enjoyed the video and thought his assessment was right on. I have a Q10 and an iPhone 5 and really my only complaint about the 10 is the lack of just a few apps. With that said, his point about being able to just use the websites instead of using an app is true, but being a Sprint customer (not going to switch, like my rates and unlimited data) that is stuck with one option for BB10, the full web version is not always the most enjoyable due to the smaller screen of the Q10.

I don't understand why BlackBerry users are constantly comparing our phones to the iPhone. Both offer features that other's doesn't have. It depends upon what you're looking for that will determine which phone is for you.
As far as I'm concerned the Q10 is more efficient than the iPhone or the Z10 or Z30.
Want to make a phone call or perform a search on th Q10, start typing.
On the Zphone or iPhone you have to bring up the keyboard first.

As I said in the Forums, the best evidence that the BlackBerry OS allows you to be more productive is that you guys can manage to leave so many comments and still have a life :) Reading all your great comments - really appreciate it. Looking to do a follow-up video once Verizon pushes 10.2.1, since I now see that is clearly a major update. You guys are passionate, love your product and defend it...funny, remember when that is how people described iPhone fans :) Tables can turn quickly in this world.

Firstly, he/she would think Z30 is an Android phone. Then he/she would love to use Z30 while discovering the high efficiency of the phone. But finally, he/she would tell you that he will stick with Z30 because it is the best Android phone he/she ever use.

I thought it was a good review since he tried to make use of all the features. I was surprised he showed off the NFC music streaming but not the speakers themselves. I tested the sound using my Z30 with a HTC One and a bunch of people at the Xmas party agreed that the Z was better and louder.

1. BlackBerry Z30 has long lasting battery life!
2. Good and high efficiency Paratek Antenna!
3. Big screen!
4. Could adjust brightness and one thing I love, is the warm white color that let me feel comfortable all the time while using all day with it!
5. Nice natural sound!
6. Love its text prediction messaging capabilities and I could type with just a single finger for some time....
Well organized BlackBerry hub!
7. Button less! No button in front of the screen! Futuristic feel..
8. Swipe gesture, no need double tap...
9. Super Amoled!!! I have set up a plain pitch black wallpaper that really save the battery life! Iphone has short battery life!
10. LED notification! I just love those LED blinking at certain interval and notify that I have incoming mail..
11. Push and push notifications!!
12. QNX... the myth of RTOS! I just feel that it is reliable and could be used forever... a feel of I just wanted to have this Z30 forever..
13. Clear call sound...
14. I could recall my phone calls with call tap!! One of the best productivity apps!
15. Side load Android apps... subway surfer.. fb.. kakao.. skype.. temple run, Google maps... all running smoothly but with a little bit more battery life consumption! Recent update fb for android is better now!!! Yeah!
16. Easy to multitask compared to iphone, samsung, nokia! Bb10 is the best for multitasking... highly effective, low ram usage and microkernal! keep it going improve and improve! I could really tell you all a quad core and an octa core samsung could not even win BlackBerry 10! Android response time is slow! And slow... and slow.. ! BlackBerry 10 is fast and smooth! Responsive! instantly! This is what I want! But for side loaded apps and buggy apps they may lag a bit.. but still in par with samsung! BB10 is the best and the most responsive RTOS!
17. The feeling of different from other smartphone users! Look! I'm carrying a BlackBerry Z30! No one else own it.. I was being surrounded mostly android and ios users...

Watching this video I can't help realize how good the Z10/Z30 are. BlackBerry's problem is a marketing one. If any one of those features were advertised correctly to a wider public , BlackBerry would have been in a much better position. As it stand today few people knows what the Z10/Z30 are capable of. BlackBerry has to make their phones desirable again.

Review should say to be continued! No mention of 10.2.1 update, or even the fact that this update gives us BlackBerrians! more options for Apps! Oh and BBM Video, remember BBM did go cross platform! Mentioning Face Time was pointless!

Good points, and based on comments all over, will do a follow-up when Verizon pushes 10.2.1 on Z30 in the US. I did install BBM on my iPhone, the problem is no video chat BlackBerry to iPhone (people say that is coming soon), which is why I bring up the FaceTime thing.

BB10 wasn't great out of the gate. Honestly, if they had done this with a Z10 when it launched I don't think it would have gone as well. Now that the OS is much more mature and feature rich it can turn heads and get people to convert. The biggest barrier for converts is going to be the apps. If you have owned an iPhone all along and bought all sorts of apps you will be less likely to switch because you have already made your investment. Android users are a bit easier with 10.2.1, but it is still an uphill battler to get them to change over and try something new.

Great idea. I'd like to see BlackBerry do something similar for SMBs that also blog (lawyers, consultants, restaurateurs, retailers, etc). There are lots of these kinds of users who have defected, and if BlackBerry wants to regain lost share with enterprise and business users, outreach to this group may help.

Double the market share then people will start to notice the difference.

BlackBerry could do a funny commercial starting with a rainy funeral scene in a cemetery in New York with people saying goodbye to the old BlackBerry and a grave stone with Research In Motion written on it.

Everybody keeps saying BlackBerry is dead. So let's have fun with the lie.

The grave stone is struck by lighting and two people ; a man and a woman step out wearing brand new clothes marked with the BlackBerry Symbol and the number 10 they start walking replacing everyone's existing phones with BlackBerry 10 phones showing all the flaws of the competition. Using lightning special effects.

Finally when they have replaced all they are transported away to a different location on Earth. Show the next location at the end of the commercials .

I loved the novelty of being able to run apk files on BlackBerry and I downloaded loads, some of which I've never gotten around to using, but like that it was just a novelty, everything I use on a daily basis comes from BlackBerry world and some things are only available on BlackBerry like remember.

The problem is all the bad media surrounding blackberry..and is a fact that a lot of it comes from I-phone users, that they never used a BlackBerry device before, brainwashed by whatever.. so its a positive seeing an i-phone lover taking up the challenge especially when the results are mostly positive..now thats my opinion so feel free to disagree..

I think deep down he is a blackberry lover now, and he is probably missing the z30 but he is too ashamed to admit it.. :D

"I think deep down he is a blackberry lover now, and he is probably missing the z30 but he is too ashamed to admit it.. :D"

I am not missing my BlackBerry Z30 at all...because I still have it! The Challenge was 7 Days, but I had such a positive experience, still using it and waiting for Verizon to push 10.2.1 so I can experience even more!

Went on carphone warehouse website and they had loads of really good reviews on z10, apart from this one LMAO "I wouldn't recommend this phone to anybody. No back button, had to keep taking the battery out just so I can go back to the main menu. do not buy!!!!!"

Even though I love the idea and I'm glad it went over well, I'm puzzled why BlackBerry would ever give him the phone with only 10.2.0 loaded on the device? I found that .1 difference the biggest improvement since launch. It's not like it wasn't out yet? Beyond me. Anyway, it was still a great idea with a great outcome.

Note: He states he will do a follow up review when he gets 10.2.1 uploaded in his comments below article.

Blackberry will never eclipse apple! That's daft look at both company's history. Every dog has its day and apples day is nearing it's end the iPhone is getting old, who will take top with next innovative product? We will just have to wait and see! As time will tell.

I have recently noticed that BlackBerry to BlackBerry phone calls are super clear. Like they are in the room!! The example I'm mentioning was Q10-Q10. Never noticed it before? Was it added with 10.2.1? Cause both of us were running the leaked OS's and didn't notice this change until roughly when the official came out

So I have an iPhone and love it but after a while I reset the whole iPhone and started download apps when I needed them! I started with YouTube , Facebook and Twitter more and more so I ended up with half of the apps and then I checked with my buddy he owns a Z10 and all the apps are almost on his Z10! Things we need to think about do I need so many apps ? Thinking to buy a Z10 now only to have one

Get the Z10 you will be glad you did plus now you can get one super cheap. Get a 64 gig micro sd card for 50$ and a cheap micro hdmi cable. I love mine and real world battery life is better than all my friends iPhone's . Granted the Z30's battery life is even better. Plus once you start typing you won't believe how good it works.

So simple but significant - text something on an Apple iPhone 5s - then move the cursor to the left and try to delete a character. Nothing happens.

The folks at BlackBerry have figured out that when no characters exist to the left - deletion to the right occurs. Love it!

It's these little things in life that make the BlackBerry an efficient device to use.

Keep the duplicate Apple apps - this said Android apps via Snap help widen the breadth of app choices so we should never have to talk about an apparent lack of apps on the BlackBerry10 series devices. Let's move on!

Great vid. I feel more people need to be forced or "challenged" to leave there phone for a little while to give BlackBerry a chance to really see how far they have came and relevant they are in the hardware world. Gotta show this vid to friends and convert them!

Don't you all cringe when you hear somebody on TV (or wherever) say something like, "now make sure you pick up your iPhone and check out our website", and they use the term "iPhone" for "smartphone" like when people say "Kleenex" when they mean "tissues"?. That really annoys the he11 out of me. Grrrr..

I think by "little keyboards" he wasn't speaking about the keyboards functionality, but rather how non BlackBerry users often describe the device. For those folks, it's also a way of minimizing how great BlackBerry really is, an everything is does well. Team BlackBerry for Life!

There a lot of little things that BlackBerry does that go a long way with me. Just one little example is bluetooth. My Q10 has Bluetooth Class 1 built in. Calls on my headset are clear up to 100 meters. People also don't notice I am speaking to them through a headset. Simple little things go a long way.

+1 even if it was just major towns. BlackBerry must be able to work out geographically where it sells a lot of phones and get a couple stored up and running.

With bluetooth aptX to high end Hi-Fi demos, movies from bbworld playing via hdmi on HD big LED screens. Remote controlling playbook etc.

Something flashy, say in London that would make me want to spent a couple hours checking stuff out and playing games on Z10 connected to tv via miracast. Listening to great 64bit audio on decent headphones with neutron player on Z30. Getting to grips with a Q10.

As an ex retail manager and troubleshooter for largish retail stores I would be up for the challenge!

The company I'm with took away the Z10 and replaced it for an iPhone 5s.
Already familiar with the iPhone 4, i started testing the device.
It isn't bad and has some cool features, some of which look borrowed from BB10, like the multi tasking panes you have swipe up and close.
But the damned thing is way to small and not impressive, not quite so much as a lot people would have me believe.
So now I am patiently waiting to see when I can test a Z30, which I already know is my preferred smartphone :)

That's a great marketing campaign, do the Z30 challenge. Start by loaning them to media, tech and business important people and make them report the result and give them a special edition Z30 as reward to passing the test.

Why do we need native apps? The average Joe doesn't know what Cascades is. He doesn't know what a .apk is.

What he knows is that he wants Instagram, Snapchat, Netflix (and all that other useless shit).

Blackberry just needs to get big titles into BB World. They don't need to close the "app gap", they just need to appear as if they have closed it.

Yes, native apps make for a better experience, but that's not the most pressing issue. The pressing issue is getting BB10 into people's hands/getting big titles into BB World. What's the easiest way to do that? Upgrade the Android Runtime and get devs to port over their .apk

The problem is that reviews like this are awesome but they're just not reaching out far enough. It's staggering how much people still know nothing about BB10 or their new phones. They're just stuck in the "blackberry sucks/battert pulls/OS freezes" mindset. They need some heavy, well thought out, marketing that will at least alert the masses that BlackBerry has new awesome devices out there that people would want to use. A lot of people I know just jumped ship with not even a second thought of "what new devices does blackberry have"...it's pretty sad.

I have relatives that live by Apple products but had never tried a blackberry product until they were all I would buy. When I got the Z30 I was asked where the button was to close apps, they apparently hadn't payed much attention to the swipes performed on my PlayBook the past 3years.

This lack of apps is bs. Who finds time in a day to play around with apps when you have so many things to do??? I mean i can understand a teenager with nothing else to do but grown folks with a job and kids???

Most people I know with iPhones do not use a lot of apps. For them it is just a phone on which they play a game or two, send messages/texts/emails and that's about it. Having an iPhone is more of a "cool" factor, or so it seems.

Yes I don't quite understand this either. I think Verizon had their little BS exclusivity for 4 months now, which is long enough. I BlackBerry a couple of months ago and the rep said it would be made available but didn't have a date. I'm going to give them a call again tomorrow to see what the hold up is.

But they're not paranoid. Have you not read the New York Times the last three months. Story, after story after story how the US government tracks, downloads and stores every bit of information from Google (email, maps, Google plus, everything). And the worst part is that Google knew and colluded with the NSA . It's gotten so bad other countries are putting restrictions on how Google can operate within their boarders. Just look at China and how Google services are being pushed out. Time to wake up.

Do your research. It's public information. Educate yourself before you speak on it. Like KemKev said, there's def some "parrotting" going on. But its mainly coming from those who are ignorant on this issue.

He made good points about missing the iPhone. Two main reasons facetime and sharing photos via iPhone to iPhone. I agree with most of his review on the Z30. One of the best review on the BlackBerry z30.

Seriously? Who cares? There are those who prefer Apple, prefer Android, prefer BlackBerry and Windows OS. There are those who like the Q10, the HTC one, any phone that looks cool and new... BlackBerry users don't need a story like this to convince them and yet the angle will serve to confirm the one thing other users love about other platforms. I phones are similar in structure...the app ecosystem is absolutely essential.. there is no surprise here. sick of the comparisons. That's my rant...and here come the replies.

Seriously who cares........some people think they need a phone that can do everything. I personally need a serious communication device this is why I have a Blackberry.
As for apps.....I have all I need & when want to listen to music I have thing called home theatre & when want to play video games I have a 65" TV with X box & PS4
Really makes me laugh when I see grown people watching TV & playing games on a tiny screen

So what is wrong with a grown man sitting in front of his 65" tv, puts on his headset and plays COD or whatever game is popular right now AFTER actually going out and experiencing the real world? There is something called chilling out, relaxing, de-stressing....we all do it in different ways. Maybe that is what you are missing? ;)

I see where you are coming from but there are many people who used to love BlackBerry, but they won't even give it the time of day now because they think the product is inferior and/or the company is dead. We need to show people that BlackBerry isn't dead and the phone that they once loved is back and better than what they are currently using.

People still have that perception because only 1 year ago BB was inferior and still running that crappy BB 7 OS. It is going to take time and they will have to prove that they want to compete with the other device manufacturers before regular (non-BB diehards) will switch to a BB again.
I see the strides they have made but I am not going to switch until they can prove they can consistently be a player in the market.

You've nailed it. Any kind of coverage that honestly states the strengths of the platform--and show it to be a legitimate choice for at least SOME users--is a benefit. The competition between the Wired bloggers at CES is another good example.

Agreed. I bet 90% of the people who talk trash about BlackBerry have never even touched one to even see what it can do. If they got one in their hands for a while to see the differences between the BlackBerry and their current smartphone they would be crazy if they still talked trash afterwards.

While I agree with you to an extent we need to think beyond our devises to the company that produces them (still drives me crazy that the company and the device have the same name).

If we want the company to survive they need to turn a profit. The past two years have shown that they are below their critical mass to do this. Even with all of the aggressive cost cutting and down sizing that has been done. To survive they need to have a good hold on the enterprise and get more consumers to embrace their products.

BlackBerry will never (I know, never say never) eclipse Apple but we need more than they 3.2% market share we currently hold. Personal belief is that we need to hover around the 12-15% mark.

Does that somehow make the native (free) Sonos Android app work? Android player is a bit buggy to say the least and the sideload stores don't really compare to opening the app store and being able to find what you want and not have to worry about it working properly.

Why would I pay for an unofficial version of a free app? I have it already on every other platform in my house for free such as Windows 7, OS X, Android and iOS so why would I pay just for one platform? Just gives a reason not to use the device even though I'd like to. I'm sure others feel the same way.

+3 on agreeing that it does. Had a Q10 before I swapped to Z10 and if you check the Settings for Language/Input it should be there. Operates like the PB's did where it displays the corrections above the Action Bar, so it takes up more screen real-estate, but just as accurate as the flick typing on the Z10.

Sean, go to settings. Choose language and input, keep auto correct off. Turn show predictions on. iphone is the worst phone to type on in the market. It does not have predictions like other o.s's. Bb10 is the only one that learns your vocab and starts suggesting it back to you. Slang included.

LOL,
this idea to take away an iP and give you a BB sounds like a challenge to the recent TM proposal:
get rid of your BB and we will make a deal by giving you an iFruit.

Apps? Well the guy is right. But, how many apps do you really need and use? If you don't have it, is there a reasonable substitute? .. weather, news, games, notebooks, books, movies, TV shows, sports coverage, and last but not least, flash video?